A spate of stock theft cases has scared the hell out of Mashudu Dombo, an emerging farmer who was aspiring to be one of the best stock farmers in the Vhembe district.

As a result, Dombo (41) of Khakhanwa outside Thohoyandou is contemplating calling it quits and focusing on something else. “I think that someone is jealous of my achievements as I have seen some of my beasts mutilated,” he adds.

Dombo started farming in 2009 and boasts with a herd of more than 50 cattle, sheep and goats. This is despite the fact that he has lost a lot of stock over the years.

“At first I thought it was normal, as we used to hear of people losing their stock to thieves, but what is happening to me is something that I cannot live with,” he says showing a bit of strain. “I am thinking of relocating and leaving farming completely,” he adds.

Dombo says his lofty ambitions to become a top stock farmer have been dealt a severe blow by those lunatics who are hellbent on frustrating him by stealing and mutilating his beasts. The last straw happened two weeks ago when he found one of his goats with its genitals cut off. “Such cruelty is something one cannot fathom and it is patently clear that the person just wanted me to feel pain. Instead of killing the the goat, he just decided to cut the genitals off the animal and left it in agonizing pain that led to its death,” he said.

He attributes all this to jealousy. “When someone succeeds, there are obviously others who want to knock him down.”

Dombo says his stay at Khakhanwa has not been a good one as some of his stock just come back from the bush with their limbs broken and some with their eyes gouged out. “Somebody is worried about my achievements. I have reported this to the local traditional leader.  I am just waiting for a response from him and then I will reconsider my stay at the village. I am still young and I thought that I would be a role model to other youths that they could succeed in farming, but my dream seems to be something that I cannot reach,” he says.

Dombo says farming has run in the family for many years and he was just continuing the family tradition. “I love farming, but with the spate of thefts and these mutilations, one could be forced out of the trade,” he says. He is appealing to all who, for reasons that are unknown to him, are destroying his vision, to please stop it. “I worked very hard to be where I am. I started with only one cow and see where I am today, but somebody is busy destroying my vision,” he says angrily.